Master Profiles: Rene Burri

* “Master Profiles” is a series profiling all the great photographers of uncontrolled life. Unlike the rest of the blog, I’m doing these in a straight profile format to make it easy for quick access to facts, quotes and knowledge on all the masters. I’ll also group them together here every time I add a new one.

Profile:

Rene Burri (1933-2014)

Swiss photographer known for his work covering a range of subjects, locations and events.

Background:

Born: April 9, 1933 in Zürich, Switzerland

Growing up in Zurich, Switzerland, Rene studied there at the Zurich University of the Arts, where he worked under Johannes Itten, among others. While his interests started in documentary film-making, he also sparked an interest in photography during the military with his Leica rangefinder. After the military and working for Disney as a cameraman, he traveled to Europe, the Middle East and Latin America with his Leica. He worked on different reportages and series for publications including Life Magazine, Look Magazine, the New York Times, different Swiss periodicals, and others. His first report,“Touch of Music for the Deaf” on deaf-mute children, was published by Life and his photographic essay from Argentina titled “El Gaucho” appeared in Du Magazine. He also became known for his portrait work, which included the famous painter Pablo Picasso, who Burri formed a personal friendship with.

From Rene Burri’s series in Argentina titled “El Gaucho”

In 1955, Rene became an associate of the prestigious Magnum Photos agency, becoming a full member in 1959. Some of his most famous work came in 1963 when he was asked to photograph Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara during an interview, while already working in Cuba. Below is one of his iconic shots of the cigar smoking Che.

Going back to his early interest in film-making, Burri helped create Magnum Films in 1965 and filmed The Two Faces of China, produced by the BBC. In 1967 he produced a documentary on the Six-Day War in Jerusalem for German television.

While Burri said he never thought he’d become a photographer, he won commissions from The New York Times, Paris-Match and the Stern, while photographing around the world, from South Vietnamese troops and the building of the Berlin Wall to the landscapes of urban Brazil and John F Kennedy’s funeral. Burri was elected chairman of Magnum France in 1982, won the Dr. Erich Salomon Prize from the German Association of Photography in 1998, and named an honorary fellow of The Royal Photographic Society in 2002.

René Burri passed away on October 20, 2014 at the age of 81. He left an archive of near 30,000 pictures to the Musee de l’Elysee in Lausanne.

Fun Fact:

At the age of 13, he took one of his first photographs of Winston Churchill driving past him on a local street in an open-topped car.

Style:

Wide range, from portraiture and life to landscape and geometry.
Mostly black and white, but some color work, as well
Geographical and political subjects and events
Strong focus on style, geometry, light and other compositional elements

Gear: Leica M Rangefinders / Summicron-M 35 mm & 50mm / Tri-x & Ektachrome E-2

For much of his career, Rene used a Leica M3, along with other Leica rangefinders (IIIF, M2, M3 and MP, later switching to digital with the M9 and M9-P). Earlier in his career, he shot most with a Summicron-M 35 mm f/2 SAMWO, but also regularly used 50mm, in addition to other focal lengths, from 20mm up to 135mm. When not using Leica, Rene was known to shoot with a Nikon F and the Pentax Spotmatic camera, which he liked using the Takumar 135 mm f/2.5 lens with. During his days of shooting film, he mostly preferred Kodak Tri-X for black & white and Ektachrome E-2 for color, before later switching to digital.

Quotes:

“One of these days, I’m going to publish a book of all the pictures I did not take. It is going to be a huge hit.”

“My photography is the result of being there at the right moment.”

“The camera has always been a magic wand for me, giving me access to places where I could try new experiments.”

“I think that’s the strength of photography – to decide the decisive moment, to click in the moment to come up with a picture that never comes back again.”

“Everyone takes pictures, so you need to have your own opinion.”

“For me, Picasso was the ultimate man. He taught me that photography is all about how you approach an image: what you do and what you don’t do. He inspired me to go beyond what you think is in front of you.”

“In 1958, a year before the revolution, Magnum wanted to send me to Cuba because they had contacts with the rebels. I’d just spent six months in South America and said ‘No’, so I missed everything.”

“A photograph is a moment – when you press the button, it will never come back.”

“What counts is putting the intensity that you yourself have experienced into the picture. Otherwise it is just a document.”

“I suddenly had to chase after my pictures… Pictures are like taxis during rush hour – if you’re not fast enough, someone else will get there first.”

“It took me six years to get close to Picasso. I learnt a lot from him, and he was an absolute genius. He almost became my grandfather at the time. It was like he was a magician or something.”

“If you are truly successful in capturing the pulse of life, then you can speak of a good photograph.”

“A digital camera has to be kept in check like a racehorse.”

“To some extent, the cult surrounding black-and-white photography is based on nostalgia.”